


Rip Hunter's Last Command

by writer_from_the_shadows



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Universe, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Suspense, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:09:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24250348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writer_from_the_shadows/pseuds/writer_from_the_shadows
Summary: In the aftermath of the battle with Mallus, the Legends begin to feel the gravity of recent events. Can an unexpected mission help them cope with the losses they suffered and bring the team even closer together? Set between seasons 3 and 4.
Relationships: John Constantine & Original Female Character(s), John Constantine/Original Female Character(s), Miranda Coburn/Rip Hunter, Nate Heywood & Amaya Jiwe, Nate Heywood/Amaya Jiwe, Nora Darhk & Ray Palmer, Nora Darhk/Ray Palmer, Sara Lance & Ava Sharpe, Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe
Kudos: 17





	1. 2172

The Waverider had left the Wild West and was now cruising slowly through the timestream. The inhabitants of the ship retreated to their own quarters or sought solitude in other parts of the ship, and the vessel was sunk in an eerie silence. The immediate celebratory feeling after defeating Mallus passed and the Legends were starting to feel the gravity of everything that had happened.  
Nate had just returned from Zambesi but could not get himself to leave the jump-ship. The realization that he will never see Amaya again was slowly starting to hit him and he let the tears he had been holding in fall freely. He thought of walking down the Waverider’s corridors and running into Amaya in her pajamas, smiling groggily at him. He though of waking up in the library after having fallen asleep working and realizing that she covered him with his favorite blanket. He thought of how brave she was on missions, how she had saved him more times than he could remember. The idea of facing the team, knowing that she will never be part of it again, seemed impossible. So, he stayed on the jump-ship, crying silently while remembering the girl who was destined to be with someone else.

Zari was tinkering with the engines, lost in thought and ignoring Gideon’s commentary. She knew she should be happy and that she was being selfish. A good friend would have been thrilled that Amaya was able to change the fate of her village and save the people she loved. Zari was happy for Amaya, but she was also jealous and angry. Amaya was allowed to do exactly what Zari had been wanting from the moment she walked onto this ship. She wanted to go back in time and save her family, but Sara told her she couldn’t risk the damage to the timeline. Zari knew Sara did not approve of what Amaya did and that their plan was not supposed to involve changing history, but she still felt betrayed. She felt like Sara’s promise to help her save her family was empty. She felt like her friendship with the Legends was based on lies. So, she retreated to the engine room and gave the machinery a once-over, while Gideon complained about her methods.

Ray was doing the dishes and humming softly. He had always enjoyed this particular chore, as it gave him something to do while he sorted through his thoughts. Usually, he came up with experiments to try in the lab or solutions to complicated equations, but today his mind was occupied with the image of a woman with long brown hair and piercing blue eyes. No matter how hard he tried to focus on other things, he could not get Nora Darkh out of his thoughts. Neither could he stop thinking about how angry Sara would be once she found out he had helped her escape. The Legends believed Nora was corrupt to the core, but Ray disagreed. Ever since their expedition to Berlin, he had though there was more to Nora then she let on. It was why he gave her the stone and allowed her to escape. He wanted to know what she would do, if she could start over in any place, in any time. However, the rest of his team would not understand his reasoning. So, he washed the dishes in solitude, humming ABBA’s “Take a Chance on Me” under his breath.

Mick sat in his room, trying to come up with the next chapter for his novel. He could not seem to focus on the writing, his thoughts constantly going back to a certain fellow criminal. Or more precisely, to his doppelganger from Earth X. The other Leo was a good guy, who helped save the world. According to him, Mick from Earth X was a hero, who gave his life protecting others. Now, Mick felt as if he was split in two. A part of him wanted to continue what Snart and he started; be the criminal he had always been. The other part, which was growing in size, realized that things were not that simple anymore. His Snart had died a hero and Mick was secretly hoping that there might still be hope for him. He wanted the team and the world to see him as more than just another crook. But right now, all he could do was sit in front of his typewriter and drink another beer, hoping that he will one day live up to his Earth X doppelganger’s reputation. 

Sara sat in the parlor, nursing another glass of whiskey. She hated the silence, hated the tense atmosphere, she hated sitting around, and she especially hated having no one to blame. Sure, Damien Darkh and Mallus were to blame, but they were both dead. Sara could even blame Rip Hunter for directing them towards chasing Mallus, but the ex-captain was also very much dead. She wanted nothing more than to leave the ship, but Ava was clearly avoiding her. She declined Sara’s offer to help at the Bureau and was dodging her calls, claiming she was busy. Sara considered going home; however, facing Darkh once more made her think of her sister and she didn’t want to return to a city without Laurel in it. It dawned on the Captain that the Legends now had no clear direction. Rip recruited them for his personal vendetta, but he also directed them towards the Legion of Doom and Mallus. With him gone, finding a new mission fell on Sara’s shoulders. So, she was avoiding her team and drinking away her sorrows on a ship that seemed filled with ghosts. 

“Captain Lance, I have detected another aberration,” Gideon’s voice sounded through the parlor.  
“Send a message to the Time Bureau, they can deal with it,” Sara answered.

“I’m afraid this is not an anachronism caused by the Legends ‘breaking time’, therefore there is not guarantee that the Time Bureau will discover it. It seems to be the work of time pirates.”

While Sara was intrigued, she doubted her team was in the right frame of mind to go on a mission right now. “Gideon, the Bureau is equipped to deal with this stuff. Just send a message to Ava.”

“I believe the Legends are a far better choice. I will plot a course to the time and place of the aberration,” Gideon answered, sounding very determined. 

“Gideon!” Sara let out an exasperated cry, but to no avail. The Waiverider’s engines were already fired up and the ship started gaining velocity.

A minute later, Sara heard voices coming down the hall and towards the bridge.

“As I have told you repeatedly, I did not do anything to the engines and I almost burned my hand when they started so suddenly.” Zari sounded annoyed, as her, Ray and Mick walked into the room.

“What’s going on?” grumbled Mick. “Thought we were taking a break from all this time saving crap.”

“We were, but apparently Gideon thinks we’re the best people for this particular job,” Sara explained while glaring at the ceiling. 

“Why can’t the Bureau do it? They have expressed that they think they’re more capable than us,” wondered Zari.

“Apparently it’s the work of time pirates and Gideon isn’t sure the Time Bureau will even get note of it.”

“Well, I could use a distraction.” Nate had just walked on to the bridge, eyes red and puffy but determination clear in his voice.

Sara raised an eyebrow at him, but when he nodded, she turned to the console, where Gideon’s holographic head had just appeared. 

“Okay, what do we know about this aberration?” the Captain asked their AI.

“After his death in 2166, the world that was once united under Vandal Savage is in ruins. North America is governed by an organization called The Order, which seeks to enslave, imprison or kill all meta-humans or supernatural beings in existence. The only opposition are the scattered and disorganized, but persistent rebel forces that provide shelter, food and medical attention to those in need. They call themselves The Railroad and they try to provide passage to other continents, which The Order has not yet conquered, to all those who seek it.”

“The Railroad huh? History does repeat itself,” commented Nate.

“The inspiration for the name did come from the US history and their function is very similar to that of The Underground Railroad from the eighteen-hundreds.”

“Okay so the world goes to hell after we kill Savage. What’s the aberration?” asked Sara.

“Well, in the non-altered version of events, the rebellion is successful. In 2201, the rebels overthrow the government and in the following years create one of the safest and most peaceful nations in human history. There isn’t another war for at least the next 100 years.

“However, in the altered version caused by the aberration, The Order releases a virus that affects meta-humans and kills within forty-eight hours. The rebellion, mostly lead by meta-humans, fails miserably and The Order’s reign of terror lasts for hundreds of years.

“What changes history is the virus used by The Order. The technology to create a biological weapon like that is not invented until 2316. According to my calculations, the weapon is sold to The Order on July 6th in 2172 and deployed by them only months later.”

The Legends looked at each other.

“Well, we did kill Savage. It is kind of our mess,” said Ray.

Mick grunted in agreement and the rest of the team did not comment, pondering weather or not they were willing to take this on right now.

Zari broke the silence. “I come from a time in which metas are being hunted and judging by what Gideon said, 2172 sounds awful. This is thousands of lives we’re talking about. We need to help them. We can’t call ourselves Legends and do nothing.”

Sara nodded. For once, she completely agreed with Zari. “Anyone disagree?”

No one said anything, so Sara turned to Gideon.

“Alright, take us to 2172.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

They landed and cloaked the ship.

“Gideon, where exactly are we?” asked Sara.

“We’ve landed just outside of Los Angeles, or at least what remains of it. The city was bombed during the conquering of Vandal Savage and has been raided by The Order multiple times. I have determined that the sale will go down about twenty miles from here tomorrow evening. Since we’re dealing with time pirates, I advise you not to try and fly the ship closer or they might be able to track us despite the cloaking.”

“Alright, guess we’re on foot. Let’s get going.”

The team headed to the fabricator and dressed appropriately for the era. The clothes were relatively normal, all in dark colors so that they would be harder to spot. They all head bandannas or scarves, which were to protect them from smoke and dust, as Gideon explained. Ray, Nate and Sarah also carried backpacks with water, some food, and other basic supplies. 

They stepped of the ship and the heat hit them immediately. It was July on the west coast, and even though it was late afternoon, the sun was still high up in the sky. They were surrounded by rocks, sand and demolished buildings. There wasn’t a living thing in sight. The silence around them was deafening. 

As instructed by Gideon, they began moving west, towards the center of the ruined city. The dry air and heat made it hard to breath and their progress was slow. They tried to stick to the streets and avenues; no one wanted to walk through barely standing buildings or climb through the debris. As they started getting closer to the center of LA, they noticed that some of the buildings were halfway rebuilt and that shelters were made along the avenues. However, all of them were abandoned. 

“These goddamn flies will not stop biting!” Mick exclaimed loudly after about an hour of walking.

Sara hadn’t noticed until then, but there were indeed flies. There were only a few around them, but when she looked towards the abandoned shelters, whole swarms were buzzing around in the air. She realized that there was a strong smell of decay in the air, that she hadn’t immediately noticed through the bandanna tied over her nose and mouth. 

“It’s probably rotten food or dead animals, right?” asked Ray nervously. “Please let it be rotten food.”

Zari put her arm over her face to block out the smell and stepped closer to one of the shelters. The team followed as she removed the ripped red curtain hanging over the entrance to the makeshift home. 

“Oh my god,” was all Zari could say.

The scene in front of them was horrific. The bodies had clearly been laying there for a while. They were covered in insects and on some parts the animals have already eaten their way to the bone. There were four of them; two adults and two children. 

Ray had to resist the urge to run away from this tragedy. “A family caught in the crossfire,” he commented solemnly. 

“Look at their heads. They were all shot in the forehead. You can still see it despite the bugs and the decay.” The observation made Zari sick. “They weren’t collateral damage. They were executed.”

Sara turned around to look at the rest of the street. There were at least four more shelters like this one that she could see, and she suspected that the scene inside was a lot like this one.

“This isn’t a war,” said the Captain. “It’s a massacre.”


	2. Mayhem

They continued walking in silence for another three hours. They had just under ten miles left, and Sara was considering suggesting that they set up camp in one of the still standing abandoned buildings. The heat was getting more bearable and the sun was finally setting. Flies and other insects were still buzzing around them, and Sara also spotted a couple birds higher up in the air. 

Suddenly, Zari stopped dead in her tracks. “Can anyone hear that?” she asked her teammates. “The buzzing, it’s different.”

Sara listened intently and realized what Zari meant. If she ignored the bugs, there was a louder humming, getting increasingly closer to them. It sounded like…

“Drones!” shouted Nate and pointed to something behind them. Indeed, three drones the size of a large bird were coming towards them with great speed. 

Trying to hide now was useless. Within seconds the three drones were hovering above them.

“Identification code and purpose of your visit please,” said an electronic voice coming from the drone in the middle.

Sara looked at her team and then back at the drone. “We’re Legends. We’re here to save the world,” she said sneeringly. They were screwed regardless. 

“Permission denied. Trespassers are to be eliminated.”

“Run!” yelled Sara and the Legends sprang forward right before the explosive darts hit the ground they were standing on.

The team ran into one of the smaller alleys and the drones followed, still shooting explosive at them.

“We need to find cover in one of the buildings!” Sara shouted to the others. They took another turn, the drones still hot on their tail. 

“In there!” yelled Zari and pointed at an old convenience store. The roof was partially caved in, but the front of the building seemed stable enough.

The Legends ran and hit behind overturned shelves. They watched intently as the drones hovered in front of the entrance, which was clearly too small for them. There wasn’t enough room in the store to fly. 

“Do you think they’ll blow the place up?” It was Nate that asked the obvious question. 

“I don’t think so. Look!” said Zari and pointed at the drones in the back. They seemed to be changing direction and flying away from the store. Only the one that spoke earlier remained. 

“Where do you think they’re going?” whispered Ray.

“Probably getting backup,” commented Sara gloomily. 

“What do we do now?” asked Zari, carefully standing up. The drone in front of the door seemed to be standing guard rather than trying to attack them. 

“We need something to distract it,” Sara said.

“Or destroy it,” stated Ray, now standing on the other side of the room. He was holding a can of what appeared to be gasoline. 

“You gonna Molotov cocktail the sucker? I’m in,” grunted Mick enthusiastically. 

Sarah shrugged and looked back at the drone. “Not sure if it’ll destroyed it, but it should be enough of a distraction for us to get away. We’ll have to be quick though.”

“We should be able to make it to that building over there,” said Zari, pointing to a bigger abandoned structure across the street. “We should be able to lay low there for a while. If there’s an underground basement their scanners are unlikely to detect us.”

“This is literally the future. We have no idea what kind of technology they’re using,” said Nate. 

“You got a better idea?” Zari shot back, not pleased with being criticized. 

“Zari’s right. We need to try something, and we need to do it now before more of those drones show up,” decided Sarah. 

Ray had already removed his bandanna and poured some of the gasoline over it. He was now stuffing it into a glass bottle that was already filled with the rest of the liquid from the can.

“Anyone confident in their aim?” he asked.

“Not to brag, but I played college football. I wasn’t half bad,” Nate smiled at the rest of them.

Sarah smirked. “It’s all you then. Better not miss or we’re royally screwed.” 

Nate grabbed the bottle and moved closer to the door, so he could see the broken window and the drone clearly.

“You ready Pretty?” Mick asked, pulling out a lighter. 

“Sure,” said Nate, sounding a little nervous.

Mick lit the lighter and the rag caught fire immediately. Nate took a step back to gain some distance and then swung his arm, letting go of the bottle. It flew clear through the window and hit the drone, producing a small explosion. The drone caught fire and flew upwards, some sort of emergency system trying to get it away from the explosion.

“Go!” yelled Sarah and the Legends sprang out of the store. They reached the opposite building in the matter of seconds. 

“Close the door!” urged Zari. Ray and Nate pushed the metal door closed, even though it was barely hanging on to its hinges. 

The Legends could finally catch a breath. They looked around the large hall. It appeared they were in a reception lobby of some sort, judging by the dusty counter on one side and the broken elevators on the other. There was no furniture or other items in the room – it appeared scavengers had taken everything movable. 

“Gideon, what are we looking at here?” asked Sarah.

“It appears you have taken refuge in Sophie’s Hotel. It used to be a popular chain of hotels and diners in the early twenty-second century.”

As soon as the AI was done talking, Sarah could hear buzzing again. She peered through the crack in the door.

“The drones are back and there’s now at least five. They’re scanning the surrounding buildings. We should keep moving,” said the captain.

“If this was a hotel, it should have a laundry room in the basement. We could try to hide there for a while,” suggested Ray.

The Legends walked across the lobby and entered the stairwell at the end. As Ray had suggested, it led them to an underground room meant for storage and laundry. Aside from debris, the room only contained two overturned driers and a couple of mops.

“Somebody really cleaned this place out,” commented Mick. 

“Gideon, will the drones be able to find us here?” asked Zari.

“Their initial scans will not detect your life signs; however, The Order will send troops to come look for you. Since they have a general idea of your location, you shouldn’t stay here for more than a couple of hours,” replied the AI.

“Okay, so, we need a plan on how to safely move above ground,” said Sarah.

“Or we can just take this tunnel,” said Nate. He had moved to the opposite side of the room and was shining his flashlight behind one of the driers. “There’s hole in the wall here. It’s just big enough for an adult to squeeze through. It seems to lead to some sort of tunnel.”

The rest of the team moved closer to the historian.

“You can feel wind blowing through it,” said Zari, who had stuck her hand into the opening. “This will lead us outside.”

“I don’t want to be a buzzkill, but this is legitimately the beginning of every horror movie ever,” murmured Ray.

Sarah let out a huff of laughter. “I don’t think we have much of a choice. Let’s go.”  
________________________________________________________________________________

The dark narrow tunnel led them steeply downwards. There were no stairs or railing and the sand and rocks covering the ground made walking difficult, so their progress was slow. 

“Gideon, can you tell us what these tunnels are?” inquired Sarah. “Gideon?”

Only static could be heard over the comms. 

“That’s weird. Maybe the comms can’t reach us this far underground?” suggested Zari.

“Let’s hope that’s all,” murmured Sarah in response. 

They continued walking in silence for a few minutes, when the tunnel started leveling out. It made a sharp turn right, and as the Legends turned the corner, they could see another opening at the end. It seemed to lead to a lighter, bigger room. The slight breeze they had been feeling all throughout the walk had gotten stronger. 

“Okay, let’s see where we are,” murmured Sarah as she walked the last few yards to the opening. 

It led to another tunnel, however this one was much wider than the one they just came down. There was enough room for all of them to walk side by side. There were also electric lights illuminating it, so Sarah turned off her flashlight.

The Legends filed through the opening one by one.

“I think this is an old subway tunnel. The tracks are gone, but it’s to wide to be a sewer,” commented Nate. 

“Okay, I think we need to go that way if we want to continue mov…” Sarah stopped mid-sentence. There was a noise sounding through the tunnel, and it was coming closer and closer.

“Are the drones back?” asked Ray.

“Nah, that’s an engine,” said Mick.

He was right. Before long, a motorcycle appeared in the distance. It reached them before the Legends could decide whether to run or not. There were two riders, both wearing helmets so their faces could not be seen. 

“Hands!” yelled the person in the back, getting of the motorcycle and pointing a weapon at them. The voice was female, but nothing else could be discerned about her. 

“Oh my God they have laser guns,” whispered Ray. 

Sarah slowly raised her hands, the rest of the Legends following suit. “We mean you no harm,” said the captain. “We’re hiding from the drones.”

That seemed to get the passengers attention. 

“Scan them!” she ordered the driver, who pulled out a small device resembling a smart phone and pointed it at the Legends.

“I’ve got three metas and two normals. No chips,” he said to his companion. “They’re telling the truth.”

The woman lowered her weapon and removed her helmet. She was Caucasian, but clearly spent a lot of time in the sun, evident by her slightly darker complexion. She had shoulder length black hair that was cut rather unevenly, as if done in a rush. Her left eye was black, and it was staring intently at the Legends. He other eye was gray and clouded over, crossed by a huge scar that spanned from her chin all the way to the forehead. 

“Where are you guys coming from?” she asked them.

“Star City,” answered Sarah. Somehow, she doubted ‘the past’ would be a well-received answer. 

The woman nodded. “I heard it’s rough up there. Glad you made it here. I’m Mayhem, by the way.” She turned to the driver, who was still siting on the motorcycle, with his helmet on. “Get back to camp and alert the others about new arrivals. I’ll walk with them.”

He gave her a short nod, restarted the engine, and disappeared the same way they came from. 

Mayhem started walking in the same direction, clearly expecting the Legends to follow. When none of them moved, she turned around and gave them a curious look.

“Come on then,” she encouraged. “You can stay at our encampment for a while, before we can get you on a ship for Asia. It’s gonna take some time but you’ll be okay.”

“Oh my god, you’re part of the Railroad,” exclaimed Nate loudly before he could stop himself.

Mayhem’s look turned from curious to suspicious. She raised her gun again. “That’s what you’re here for isn’t it? Why are you so surprised?”

“I, ahm…we just didn’t think we’d make it,” provided Sarah. 

Mayhem wasn’t buying their answer. “Alright, what is really going on here?” she demanded.

Sarah looked at the rest of her team. They needed Mayhem and the rebels to help them navigate this clearly dangerous terrain, if they were going to make it to the sale in time. On the other hand, telling this woman the truth could put them in more danger than they were already in. The captain sighed, deciding to take the risk.

“This is gonna sound ridiculous, but we’ve come from 2018 to prevent a disaster. It all started when we defeated a time demon called Mallus…”  
_________________________________________________________________________________

“…and that’s how we ended up here, talking to you.” Sarah finished explaining the events of the past 24 hours to Mayhem. 

The woman stared at them in shocked silence. “Can you prove it?”

“Wait, maybe…give me a second…” mumbled Nate as he dug through his pocket. He handed Mayhem his wallet and his phone.

She dug through them in silence, looking at all the dollar bills and IDs, as well as the apps on Nate’s phone. 

“Ha,” Mayhem huffed. “Didn’t think time travel technology still existed.”

It was Sarah’s turn to be surprised. “You believe us?”

Mayhem shrugged. “This is 2172. I’ve met a time traveler or two in my life,” she said. “I just didn’t think there were any left. The Order outlawed the technology as soon as they came to power. They destroyed all of it.  
“Besides, you’ve no reason to lie. And you’re not chipped, so I know you’re not with The Order,” she finished.

Something clicked in Zari’s brain. “That’s why you scanned us.”

Mayhem nodded. “The Order has been trying to imbed spies in the Railroad for a while now. They don’t trust metas though, so they chip all of them. They haven’t caught on to the fact that we can scan for chips.”

“Why not just send a non-meta agent without a chip?” asked Sarah.

“They’ve done that a couple times successfully. Which is why we’ve implemented new rules. No normals can make contact with the Railroad without being accompanied by an unchipped meta,” explained Mayhem. 

“But there have to be non-metas that don’t support The Order,” wondered Nate.

“There are,” Mayhem nodded. “Some have proven invaluable and work for the Railroad. Others live ordinary lives, mostly in newer cities on the East Coast. They’re not in danger as long as they don’t voice their opinions to loudly.”

“You a meta then?” asked Mick.

Mayhem smiled. “I’m not. I came to North America during Vandal Savage’s reign. After The Order came to power, I decided to stay and help.”

“You helped start the rebellion,” realized Sarah.

Mayhem nodded. “I am one of the many people who helped get it of the ground. I was an army medic before all of this began, so I had some experience with war zones.  
“Alright, that’s enough chit-chat. I assume you need help?” asked Mayhem.

Sarah nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, 2172 has not been a walk in the park,” added Ray.

“That it is most certainly not,” agreed Mayhem. “I can’t take you to our camp…time travelers might be a bit upsetting for people desperate to escape their current situation. Besides, it would be the opposite way of where you said you were going. There’s a place we can stay half a mile down this tunnel,” she said, pointing behind the Legends.

“Wait a minute, we?” asked Zari. “You’re coming with us?”

Mayhem laughed. “You’re trying to save my future. Damn right I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review if you read. Constructive criticism is welcome.


End file.
